AnimatedJames

Haven't been posting on here anymore, and don't really plan to, but I have been posting a lot of art on twitter (twitter.com/animatedjames) and tumblr (animatedjames.tumblr.com) and I plan on continuing that.



Feel free to ask me anything you want on tumblr (animatedjames.tumblr.com/ask).

I also finished a 205 page story arc for my webcomic (offsavingtheworld.com).

And if you're into that gross shit (sometimes literally) I made a NSFW smut blog (notsafeforworld.tumblr.com)


I understand if there's a loss of patience with me. I deserve it. It feels wrong for me to say that I've changed or improved since that should be up to others to decide. All I can say and show is that I'm doing the best I can, just like the rest of you. My mind wasn't in the right place for way too long, and it's my responsibility to set things right, now that I'm aware of that, and aware of the reasons behind that.

I'll shut up now. Sorry, thank you, and see ya.

I just reached the 80 page mark on Off Saving the World, and I'm a little over a minute done with the upcoming stand up comedian animation, which I might start streaming again. I've been offline for a while, working, but also just worrying too much. I do that all the time, and it's not fun, but part of my anxiety is that the more I feel it, the harder it is to stop it and just have fun, even when I should be having it.

I think back to when I wrote "How to prevent idiocracy". It was a stressful and kinda scary time and I wanted to make people feel better. I still agree with the overall message of it, but at the same time, it's a direction I don't wanna go with my content. It was really preachy and set really high expectations. My anxiety causes me to do that ALL the time. Setting myself up to fail instead of just doing what I actually wanna do, and should do, which is create fun.

Despite being a weird cartoonist, I've always been oddly serious and anxious, never really able to have fun like a regular person. I feel like I got into art and animation as an escape from things like school and life in general. But it ended up making me just as anxious. And art and entertainment are very feeling based, so whatever you're feeling is eventually gonna come out the more art and entertainment you make. I tried to avoid putting my angst into what I created, but eventually it came out one way or another.

Lately I've been able to cope with it by just drawing random sketches and pics in my spare time, so it does fuel my creativity, as it always has. I enjoy drawing even more when it's alleviating anxiety and stress. That's the feeling I wanna create in others. In pursuit of getting more in touch with feelings I ignored for very long, I forgot I'm doing this for fun. My fun, other people's fun, and fun in general. Maybe not fun for EVERYONE, but nothing is.

Maybe it's a no-brainer that I should focus on the fun aspect of being a cartoonist, but in my experience, the internet, stuff happening in the world, personal life, and life in general can be overwhelming, when it's not being inspiring. Obviously you can't have fun all the time, and my content won't always be happy-go-lucky, but that's okay too. Part of growing up is taking the good with the bad. And the bad makes the good even better. But the whole point is to relieve anxiety and stress, making it easier to relax, but not to the point where you're too relaxed and you get anxious about how not anxious you are.  

In short, OStW is closer to completion, a stand up comic animation is in the works, and fun is surprisingly fun.   See you around.

Have a fox:

2017 has been off to a great start. Got to sleep over with close friends for a week while playing video games and watching anime. One of my friends introduced me to One Punch Man, so I am now all about One Punch Man.

So far I've been staying true to my resolution: Staying calm and staying true to self. And sticking with that theme, I want to tell you something...

Thank you. I've wanted to thank you for the longest time. All of you. I wanted Off Saving the World to be that thank you. But that would take a few more weeks to make, and I don't even know if it'll be any good. I have this notion that continuing to create content will show how much I appreciate your support. But nothing sends a message like being straight forward.

Thank you for watching/reading/tolerating what I do on the internet. It's hard for me to be the kind of internet personality who's all like "Thank you all! I love every single one of you! You're all amazing! <3 <3 <3." Too much negative pressure has accumulated in my head for me to be like that and actually be genuine. I don't know if anyone else feels that way about communicating with other people. I'd love to be like that though. But I also don't wanna be fake. I look back on all the times I've been a liar, a hypocrite, and generally inauthentic, and it motivates me to stay as far away from that as possible. Hell, 2016 was the year I tried cleansing all the toxicity from my mind and having a more positive outlook.

I know I haven't been consistent. I hope I can change that about me too. Having a following is so weird (at least for me... because I'm weird xD) It's made me want to be a more positive influence, but also has made me realize that you can't please everyone, and people are gonna hate you no matter how hard you try to improve, but you can't let that stop you from improving. It's all crazy and weird. And I've learned to accept and embrace how crazy and weird the world is. I sometimes ask "Why am I so crazy and weird?" Realizing that living on earth made me like this, so the world must be just as crazy and weird as me.

Knowing that makes everything seem better... or least better enough to stop having mental breakdowns. 

Anyone else super into absurdism?

Either way, OSTW is a little over half way done, and I'm working on a 3 minute animation! Both coming soon!

Again, thank you all! I love every single one of you! You're all amazing! <3 <3 <3 (seriously)

Happy New Year! It was around this time last year that I didn't have the best grasp on reality. I was so caught up in my own personal anxiety that I lost my mind. Not much to say it about that now, except every day, I'm surprised, humbled, and grateful that I still have friends and followers, in spite of thinking I don't deserve either.

Main reason I'm making this journal is to acknowledge that I said OStW would be done around the holidays. I could be smart-alacky and say "I didn't say WHICH holiday" but we all know which holidays I was referring to. It is half way done and can be seen on patreon for $1 a month, but if you can wait, I suggest doing that.

...

And... that's it. Oddly enough I had way more overly-sensitive, insecure, preachy, and just whiney things to say in this journal, that I resisted typing for that very reason. My resolution last year was to help those I care about. For the most part, I did what I set out to do, even if I ended up helping 2 possible sociopaths that ended up treating me like shit. My resolution this year is simple: Keep my cool in situations of stress, and don't let the opinions and perceptions of others influence my own.

I'd also just like to talk more to people in an introspective way. Get out of my own head and such.

"Does this mean I won't get to talk to you as much?"

Don't worry voice in my head, you'll still have plenty of chances to fill me with anxiety and self-doubt.

"YAAAAY! I love 2017 already!"

Still working on Off Saving the World. I want it to be done more than anyone, but at the same time i wanna make sure it's as good as it can be. I haven't been focused on drawing other stuff for deviantart while I work on this, mainly out of a sense of duty to complete it. I feel like I've annoyed you all so much with the sudden cancelations of things. I just wanna start going through with things again, which is why all my focus is on this 50-60 page comic book that won't be done for like 3-4 months. I wanna show previews of the comic, maybe draw some more art of the characters, but why would you care about these characters you know nothing about. The reason people like when I draw the creative types is because you KNOW those characters. So I'll wait until I'm done with this, and then draw and make stuff relating to them.
"And then scrap those characters and move on to something else."
*sigh* Yes me. Whatever you say. I hope you like it when it comes out. If you want you can comment saying whether or not you're excited for it or whether or not you even care. Even if most of you don't, as long as one person is looking forward to it, that's enough.
"Be careful what you wish for."
ANYWAY, I'll see you guys later!

Bub eye!